CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from Radio Havana Cuba's news service for Friday, June 12, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- PASTORS FOR PEACE ANNOUNCES 8th FRIENDSHIPMENT CARAVAN 2.- AID FLIGHT FROM CATHOLIC CHURCH IN MIAMI ARRIVES IN CUBA 3.- U.N. DRUG SUMMIT WAS IMPORTANT STEP IN THE DIRECTION OF INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION TO FIGHT DRUG-TRAFFICKING 4.- MEETING OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS HELD IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL 5.- CUBA APPEALS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE DURING 86th INTERNATIONAL LABOR CONFERENCE 6.- CUBA BECOMES PERMANENT MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF CARIBBEAN RICE GROWERS 7.- EXPOCARIBE '98 READY TO GET UNDERWAY IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA 8.- BRITISH BUSINESS DELEGATION WINDS UP VISIT TO CUBA PASTORS FOR PEACE ANNOUNCES 8th FRIENDSHIPMENT CARAVAN Washington, June 12(RHC)-- The religious/solidarity organization Pastors for Peace has announced that the 8th Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba will get underway on July 3rd. At a news conference in Washington D.C., Pastors for Peace leader and founder -- the Reverend Lucius Walker -- said that "people of good faith cannot allow the continuation of Washington's blockade, affecting mostly Cuban children and the elderly, without putting up resistance." The 8th Friendshipment Caravan will set out from 14 U.S. cities and will travel through another 150 cities to collect humanitarian aid for Cuba. Organizers expect to gather medicines and books from churches and grassroots organizations and plan to bring six school buses to Cuba next July 23rd. Since 1992, the seven previous caravans collected a total of more than 1500 tons of humanitarian aid for this Caribbean island. Pastors for Peace has never requested permission from the U.S. Treasury Department, as a demonstration of their total opposition to the blockade. On several occasions, members of the organization have been assaulted by authorities and arrested. Leaders of the movement have gone on hunger strikes when they have been temporarily prevented from crossing the border into Mexico or Canada -- from where the humanitarian aid is shipped to Cuba. One hunger strike, undertaken in 1996, lasted for 94 days. During last year's friendshipment caravan -- the 7th -- authorities did not harass the organization or try to stop it, in an apparent effort to prevent publicity concerning widespread opposition to the blockade inside the United States itself. AID FLIGHT FROM CATHOLIC CHURCH IN MIAMI ARRIVES IN CUBA Havana, June 12(RHC)-- The Catholic Church of the U.S. city of Miami has brought some 15 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba on a charter flight that arrived in Havana on Thursday, despite opposition from the ultra right-wing in Florida. The cargo of medicines and medical equipment will be distributed by the Cuban Catholic Church, in coordination with the island's Health Ministry, through the relief organization Caritas. This is the first direct Miami-Havana flight since U.S. President Bill Clinton lifted restrictions on these flights and money remittances last March. The shipment had been ready since last May 27th, but was held up due to bureaucratic red tape in the United States. Washington came under strong pressure to authorize the shipment from important groups opposing the blockade. Shortly before taking-off, Peter Coats -- an assistant of Miami's auxiliary Bishop Thomas Wenski -- told the local media that all their papers were in order and that they had received authorization from the Cuban government. Organizers of the aid shipment highlighted the time and money saved by not having to go through a third country. U.N. DRUG SUMMIT WAS IMPORTANT STEP IN THE DIRECTION OF INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION TO FIGHT DRUG-TRAFFICKING New York, June 12(RHC)-- Cuban Minister of Justice Roberto Diaz Sotolongo expressed his satisfaction with the recently held United Nations Drug Summit in New York. In an exclusive interview with Prensa Latina News Agency, the head of the Cuban delegation to the special UN session said that although there was much to be done, the meeting was an important step in the direction of international coordination to fight drug-trafficking. Diaz Sotolongo told Prensa Latina that industrialized countries must make a greater effort to help those with fewer resources, adding that drug consumption in the developed countries must also be curbed. The Cuban Minister of Justice and Head of the National Drug Commission stated that one way to confront the problem of drug trafficking would be to use money which is wasted on weapons production. Referring to the use of drugs in Cuba, Diaz Sotolongo said that while this does not currently constitute a social problem on the island, the government is working hard to make sure drug use never becomes a problem in Cuba. He pointed out that Havana has signed 18 cooperation accords, primarily with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. MEETING OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS HELD IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, June 13(RHC)-- The current situation of Cuba's health care system as well as the development of plans to increase quality and services to the population were the main issues discussed at the National Meeting of Presidents of Municipal Governments which began on Thursday in Havana. During the meeting, Cuban Health Minister Carlos Dotres pointed out that despite the tightening of Washington's blockade against Cuba and 50 percent fewer resources, the island has been able to produce 390 medicines that were previously purchased abroad. Dotres added that the Health Ministry is working to guarantee the stable supply of medicine to the population. Referring to AIDS, the health minister explained that while there are over 30 million people throughout the world infected with the AIDS virus, in Cuba the disease affects only 0.3 per cent of the population -- one of the lowest indexes in the world. Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage, also on hand at the meeting of presidents of municipal governments, said that the reduction of infectious diseases and the cost of hospital treatment have contributed to improving the island's health care services. The Cuban official added that the shortages and difficulties that exist are compensated by the excellent medical treatment given to the population by the island's health care sector. CUBA APPEALS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE DURING 86th INTERNATIONAL LABOR CONFERENCE Geneva, June 12(RHC)-- Cuba has called for concrete actions that would help implement the accords of the International Labor Organization -- most notably that of social justice. Cuba's Minister of Labor and Social Security, Salvador Valdes, addressing the 86th International Labor Conference in Geneva, said that social security consists of the worker's right to dignified and safe working conditions, equal pay for equal work and unemployment insurance. The Cuban official emphasized that full employment was a commitment adopted by the World Social Development Summit as a basic priority of economic and social policies, which must also be the International Labor Organizations' objective. CUBA BECOMES PERMANENT MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF CARIBBEAN RICE GROWERS Havana, June 12(RHC)-- Cuba became a full member of the Association of Caribbean Rice Growers at a meeting of its executive board in Havana. The meeting was held during the First International Rice Encounter which wound up on Thursday. Leaders of this regional group felt that Cuba has the right to join the Association of Caribbean Rice Growers, which gathers other nations in the Caribbean, primarily the English-speaking countries. EXPOCARIBE '98 READY TO GET UNDERWAY IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA Santiago de Cuba, June 12(RHC)-- Nearly 240 companies from 31 nations have confirmed their participation at the 7th International Trade Fair EXPOCARIBE '98, which will take place in eastern Santiago de Cuba from the 21st to the 28th of this month. Some 500 Cuban firms will also attend the fair, with the objective of promoting trade and investment opportunities between the eastern region of Cuba and the Caribbean basin. EXPOCARIBE '98 will also include round tables and conferences on the island's economy and transportation in the Caribbean region. BRITISH BUSINESS DELEGATION WINDS UP VISIT TO CUBA Havana, June 12(RHC)-- A British business delegation visiting the island has concluded its working sessions, after exploring Cuba's market and strengthening business associations in the food and plastic industries, as well as the area of tourism transportation. Trevor Jones, President of the group of Commercial Advisors for the Caribbean who also headed the British delegation, pointed to positive talks with Cuban authorities and affirmed that investment opportunities on the island are favorable for British capital. Jones praised the development of bilateral trade, despite the recent controversial agreement between the European Union and the Untied States on the anti-Cuban Helms-Burton Law. The British business leader said that the presence of the fourth business delegation from his country to Cuba was proof of the success of these bilateral meetings. BRAZILIAN SOLIDARITY ORGANIZATIONS MEET TO DISCUSS FUTURE WORK Brasilia, June 12(RHC)-- Over 500 delegates from Brazil are participating in the 6th National Convention in Solidarity with Cuba, taking place in the city of Belem, capital of the Brazilian state of Para. Representatives of solidarity organizations from 12 Brazilian states are analyzing ways to work more closely with the Cuban people. Among their projects are annual volunteer work brigades to Cuba. The Solidarity with Cuba Convention will wind up tomorrow, Saturday, with a final declaration. [c] 1998, Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. This prohibition includes the distribution of this material via Usenet News, "bulletin board" services, e-mail lists, print media, radio and television. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. 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